The Snake and The Mouse
by blockednumber
Summary: "Nice to meet you Miss Inoue, Szayel at your service."    Orihime slowly took his hand, "Oh.." was all she could muster. Szayel immediately found her the most interesting person, and thats when the snake first set his eyes on the mouse.
1. Chapter 1

Orihime's legs often became sore from standing or sitting for the long periods of time she took to stare up at the never changing moon, her only source of entertainment in her captivity. Continuously straining her neck upwards to stare blankly, for minutes and hours and days, and it must have been weeks now. Maybe months? How could she know if the moon never set or rose and only its cold light spilled into her room, casting the same set of shadows every day.

Her only sense of time was when Ulquiorra brought her meals and her nights of sleep, her inner clock working. She felt her energy slowly drain from her both emotionally and physically, interesting theories and questions and dreams no longer piled up in her head waiting to be told and answered but instead she pined for a day where she was free. More like she wished herself away to a _time_ where she was free and sunlight warmed her skin and the sound of friends laughter haunted her.

Orihime sighed, closing her eyes and finally leaning against the wall to rub her ever aching legs and neck instead of pacing the room in agitation. There was no use since this was a daily occurrence, one that never went away.

"I'm coming in," said a light voice from nowhere.

Orihime looked up, not surprised, never surprised since it was the same emotionless face and monotone voice owned by the very predictable Ulquiorra.

He stared her down meeting her own tired eyes with his dark evergreen ones before motioning the servant to push in the squeaky cart with her meal. She cringed slightly at the noise, her ears too used to silence until it stopped. The frail creature quickly bowed and scurried out in fear of Ulquiorra, it was the same every day. She held back another sigh.

"Eat," Ulquiorra ordered.

Orihime slowly looked at her food, then at the cement ground, "I'm not hungry."

Ulquiorra didn't react, _never _reacts, instead he kept his hands shoved in his pockets and his slouched composure but he took a step closer,

"Do not make me repeat myself."

Orihime looked up, her eyes almost half closed and pushed herself off the wall and past Ulquiorra to the couch, where she crawled into a ball,

"I told you I'm not hungry."

She didn't hear his voice but she didn't hear him move either, so she closed her eyes, finding herself to be much more tired than she expected. She started to drift into an almost comforting sleep away but her heart jumped when she was quickly lifted into Ulquiorra's arms. She gasped,

"Ulquiorra!"

He didn't respond nor did he look at her, but in an instant they were down the large halls of the castle and in front of large, white stone doors. Orihime stared up in awe, as he pushed through the doors, but the higher she looked her neck sent shocks of pain through her. She bit her lip and looked back down. Ulquiorra noticed and sent her a stare which she didn't return.

She found they entered a living area with hallways leading to different doors. Down one hallway illuminated an eerie green light that sent shivers up her spine. Ulquiorra followed it but suddenly she felt a heavy pressure crushing her body, she cried out and Ulquiorra stumbled,

"Would you like to kill her and face Aizen's wrath, Szayel?" spoke Ulquiorra calmly.

The pressure immediately stopped and a pink head peered around the corner, "Well there is such a thing called knocking."

Ulquiorra made no remark but followed the pink haired man with bone glasses through what appeared to be a lab, chemicals neatly lined up on a counter and many cages surrounded the walls, making Orihime uneasy in Ulquiorra's arms. A microscope in the far right corner looked at a slab that glowed a bright neon green, Orihime shook the thought of wanting to know why it was neon green.

"What can I do you for, Ulquiorra?" said Szayel , smirking that the higher ranked espada brought the _very_ interesting human with him. His brain racked with experiments and theories about her if only she wasn't for Aizen.

Ulquiorra sat her down on a high cold metal table, too close to a jar with a bubbling blue liquid inside for comfort and she scooted away.

"Something's wrong with her."

"Gee, thanks for being specific," Szayel mocked Ulquiorra.

Ulquiorra shoved his hands back in his pockets and looked away, "I am not the doctor here."

Szayel rolled his eyes and faced Orihime who quickly looked away, causing Szayel to smile at the beautiful opportunity at hand. He had a chance to inspect the only human around for miles. He stuck his hand out,

"Nice to meet you Miss Inoue, Szayel at your service."

Orihime slowly took his hand, "Oh.." was all she could muster. Szayel immediately found her the most interesting person, and that's when the snake first set his eyes on the mouse.


	2. Chapter 2

Orihime cleared her throat as she tried to pry her hand out of Szayel's firm grip, quickly folding them on her lap. Szayel smiled, a glint of mischief in his eyes at seeing her reaction and having to stop his immediate reaction to scribble information on his clipboard. He held his hands behind his back, standing up straighter,

"What seems to be the problem?"  
Orihime squeezed her hands,"Nothing."  
Szayel raised an eyebrow and cocked his head torwards Ulquiorra who nodded in return,  
"The woman has stopped her eating, seems to have moments of sudden pain and her personality has changed dramatically."  
Szayel eyed her suspiciously,"Mmm, interesting. Ulquiorra, leave," he demanded, suddenly.  
Ulquiorra stared at him with the slightest hint of annoyance,"May I remind you I am her keeper?"  
Szayel rolled his eyes,"Yeah, great, you're the best babysitter," he scoffed,"But may I remind you that I am the doctor here and would rather work alone." He smiled at Orihime who gave him wide eyes in return.

Ulquiorra looked at Szayel for a moment, who easily held his gaze before switching to Orihime, who couldn't do the same and quickly looked down,

"If there is one scratch on her.."

"I assure you," Szayel interrupted, "She shall come out unharmed."

Ulquiorra obviously didn't trust Szayel as he suspiciously stared him down before turning on his heels sharply to exit the lab. Orihime watched him leave in longing, dreading being left alone with this stranger surrounded by sharp knives and quirky tools and the terrifying rumors of the mad scientist. Szayel brought his attention back to Orihime,

"So would you like to explain now?"

Orihime became absorbed by the ground, refusing to look at him in the eye. She heard him snicker and almost felt his eyes roam her body in interest, feeling the hairs on her neck stick up. Orihime looked up slightly to see him drag a cart and stool over, where he sat directly in front of her,

"Look forward," he ordered.

Obediently, she did. He held up a metal stick with an end that surrounded a sphere of glass. With it, he leaned in close to her, putting his plastic gloved hand on her face to open her eye up for a better view, peering in through the instrument. She could clearly see his own hazel eyes and his warm breath on her skin. Orihime backed away, uncomfortable with the little space between them,

"So it isn't your eyes?" he questioned.

She shook her head.

"Would you like to elaborate?"

She opened her mouth, but quickly closed it shut, her courage sinking.

"I will check every part of your body till I find out why Ulquiorra has wasted both mine and his time with bringing you here."

Orihime felt sweat bead her forehead at the idea and dragged her eyes to look at him, his arms crossed and his foot tapping in impatience,

"It's my back and neck," she spoke quickly.

"Ahhhh, finally you speak, well how did this come about?"

"I ,um, stared out the window too... long." She felt her face heat up at such a ridiculous statement.

Szayel smiled, "Now I can help you," he uncrossed his arms and turned to rummage through cupboards filled with different sized jars containing not so friendly ointments and medicine by the looks of it. Orihime closed her eyed and silently prayed that he wouldn't need one of those.

"Ah ha!"

Orihime's prayers, in fact, were not answered as he brought out a tiny bottle filled withed a sickly pink slime. She swallowed,

"What's that?"

Szayel looked at the bottle and then back at her, "Oh this little thing?"

She nodded, wishing in the back of her mind that she never asked the question to begin with.

"It eases the pain in a human body," his devilish grin grew wider, "Well at least my hypothesis says so, you see," he took a step closer, "I haven't a human to test it on."

Orihime leaned back away from him and lifted her legs so they fully sat on the table. Szayel sighed, "I can promise it will come to no harm, I'd rather Ulquiorra not rip my head off."

Szayel turned to put the substance in a needle when he heard something so amazing he couldn't believe he had the fortune to ever hear it. He didn't even know what it was at first, wondering if it was a defect of some sort of this human. He turned with his eyebrows furrowed to look at her in question,

"What...did you just do?"

Orihime gave him an innocent look, "What? Laughing?"

"Yes," he waved off her comment with his hand, " But why?"

Orihime became nervous, worrying she had done something wrong, "You...were funny?"

Szayel cocked his head, and pursed his lips, "Interesting...you do not seem to find comfort in others pain."

Orihime shook her head in a rush, "No! I couldn't imagine that!...But you were funny..."

This time it was Szayel who was almost at a lost for words, "Funny?"

She nodded.

"Well that's a word I haven't been described as."

Szayel turned back around to complete the filling of the needle. He set it down next to Orihime to lift up her sleeve and rub her arm with disinfectant. From the corner of his eye, he saw her bite her lip,

"This will not hurt," he said simply. Orihime didn't feel confident about that but wanted to trust him anyways.

Gently he pushed the needle into her delicate skin and heard her hiss. As quickly as it went in, he pulled it out and covered the mark with a band aid.

"All done."

She nodded, he held out his hand for to help her down, "All better," he smiled.

Orihime gripped his hand and hopped down realizing her back and neck were indeed better. Szayel led her to the door where in the hallway Ulquiorra waited, leaning against the wall his hands, as always, in his pockets.

"See, she's all in one piece," Szayel displayed Orihime.

Ulquiorra nodded and started walking, expecting Orihime to follow, Orihime let go of Szayel's hand but quickly turned around,

"Oh, Szayel, thank you very much." She bowed her head.

Szayel blinked in surprise and nodded back, unsure of what to say. She gave him a tiny smile before running off to catch up to Ulquiorra.

Szayel stared after her until she was gone from his sight. No one had ever called him funny or thanked him before. He shook his head and slammed his lab door, throughly confused but not sure why.

The snake was stunned by the mouse.


	3. Chapter 3

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The peace and quiet had settled itself over Szayel's domain like a thick blanket. The only sound that could be heard was the soft hum of intricate equipment, and buzz of overhead lights. All of which was music to Szayel's ears. At the moment, he slowly adjusted the knob on his microscope, deeply absorbed with his most current observation in his lab. He did not need the distractions of noise to keep him from his work.

That was why Szayel had chosen the farthest corner in the castle to reside, so he could do such. The pink haired scientist had low tolerance and would not stand to be kept from such important research. Everyone knew he would not hesitate to take his anger out on anyone who dared interrupt him. This often kept people away, just what Szayel wanted.

But he didn't expect to hear his door open and slam at that exact moment. Oh the irony. The unplanned surprise caused him to jump and slip his fingers on the wheel, crushing the glass slab. The crack of the broken glass made his heart swell. He took a long, deep breath and closed his eyes while pursing his lips.

He let out his breath with a yell and swept anything on his desk off with his arm in fury. Papers, pencils, the now useless microscope all scattered on the floor. He was going to rip _whatever _made the mistake to come even three feet of him!

He whipped around, practically spinning on his heels and grabbed the lab's door handle to rip the piece of metal off its hinges. It fell behind him with a loud clatter but he didn't bother to clean any of this mess up until someone paid dearly for their insolence.

Szayel's eyes adjusted to the darkness that had stained the walls of his hallway and creeping towards the entrance he felt the presence of another soul, a tiny, frail one, hiding behind his couch in the front room. This situation was turning out to be in his favor; a game of cat and mouse.

He made his footsteps obviously louder and slower, much slower, adding to the suspense. He got closer and closer until he stood right in front of the white couch that had never had the honor of being used. It was crisp and clean, no dents or stains. Szayel's ears heard the sound of a hitched breath and it brought a smirk to his face, the game soon drawing a winner and he had an idea who it would be.

Without further adieu, he swung his arm down behind the piece of furniture to grab the cotton collar of the intruder. He forcefully pulled them up, hearing a yelp of pain and dangled them in the air, pushing his face in theirs. But his once evil expression turned to confusion as he stared in the hazel eyes

of Orihime Inoue.

This new piece of development caught him off guard and the game he became so excited about playing only moments before had vanished from thought.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

She struggled a bit and put her hands on his gloved ones to pry them off her shirt, "….Ow," was all she managed to stutter.

Szayel realized he was choking her and let go of her immediately, her body hitting the couch and she breathed heavily for air. He wiped his hands as if he was wiping them of her,

"I asked what you are doing here?" he repeated impatiently.

Her tiny hand rubbed her now sore neck as she stared at him with a half open mouth, almost contemplating what to say. He had grown tired of waiting and tapped his foot impatiently, crossing his arms,

"Are you deaf!"

She jumped at his raised voice and shook her head quickly, "No!"

Szayel jutted out his jaw and gritted his teeth, never meeting anyone so _thick _before, "Then what in the Lord's name are you doing here!"

Orihime rubbed her hands together nervously, her eyes flicking back and forth, "It's….um…N-Nnoitra..,"

Szayel raised an eyebrow and shook his head in wonder, "…and!"

As if on cue, his door opened for the second time that, sending Szayel sky high exasperation, "Does ANYBODY know how to knock these days!"

Slipping through the door, and speaking of the devil, Nnoitora flicked on the lights of the room,

"Now where would our _princess_ be?"

Orihime froze, her face paled and she swallowed slowly while her eyes widened. Her heart thudded in her chest loudly and without thinking, she hid behind Szayel cowering in fear. She was half afraid Szayel would push her away in complete disgust but she was also half hopeful that that wasn't the case.

"Looking for something?" Szayel spoke coolly.

Nnoitra saw his prize and his trademark smile broke and spread from ear to ear, "I believe I am, and I believe something of mine is behind you." He pointed over Szayel's shoulder while taking a step closer.

Szayel put a finger to his chin and gave a playful smile, "Mmm. Funny. I don't seem to recall anything here being yours."

Nnoitra frowned at the scientist's refusal to give him his prey, "What?"

Szayel smiled and crossed his arms and nodded, "Yep, nothing here, better leave. Too bad though."

Nnoitra's cheerful sprit darkened, "Szayel," he growled, "Give me the girl!" Szayel felt Orihime tremble at his command.

"No," Szayel said lightly.

Nnoitra seemed to see defeat, and turned his lip up in annoyance, "Bastard," he spat.

"_Princess!" _Nnoitra called out, "This isn't over!"

With that the predator stomped out, slamming the door in his wake. For a few seconds, Szayel stood his ground to make sure the animal was defiantly gone before turning to Orihime,

"So, that was your problem?"

Orihime nodded, with those scared hazel eyes and plump quivering lips. Something about it made Szayel squirm under her stare. Under _her _stare? Shouldn't _she_ squirm under _his_ stare?

The snake was playing fire.


	4. Chapter 4

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She felt as if the moon's eerie light could actually come down and tickle her ghost white skin, leaving goose bumps in its wake. It was if it snuck between the bars of her prison silently and crushed her with suffocating, dead air and left each time with a little bit of her. The moon was laughing at her, she just knew it. At first Orihime thought the large orb was her dependable friend, always there when she looked up, always listening when she spoke, but after a while, it started to mock her. Orihime felt sick.

The moon crept into her bones and chilled them; it crept into her head and stole her memories. It was trying to replace her life. She couldn't stand it. As each day went by another face burned away, another feeling left without a second's notice. Today, she lost the taste of raspberry jam. What she would die for to remember the sweet jelly in her mouth. But no, the moon seemed to be a professional in burning itself into her mind.

Orihime sighed deeply, staring down at her white folded hands contrasting the white fabric in her lap. Her eyes strayed around the room, and she had a sudden urge for color, if anything, a tiny pop of green in a pillow, or a red rug, or pink curtains.

Pink…that's right. Szayel's hair was that gorgeous pink. Not a neon ugly pink that hurt your eyes, but a dark, mysterious pink that made him look dangerous. The pink darkened at the ends of his hair, is if it was going to drip. Unlike her own hair which faded of the bright orange and turned dead of life. It made Orihime want to keep that color of pink all for herself, she shook her head, no this was wrong…that was just it…he was dangerous, and sly and sneaky, right?

But he helped her when her neck hurt, and he kept her safe from Nnoitra when that disgusting creature came to toy with her, until Ulquiorra found her almost immediately after. He came and dragged her away from that splash of color. Orihime bit her lip, finding a new fondness for pink, defiantly an unhealthy fondness she decided.

((

"Teach her what?" Szayel questioned to himself in a low muttering voice as he stomped through the hallways.

He found himself to be in a constricting, emotional conflicting situation. Angry, maybe happy, annoyed, stressed, mind boggled were all feelings that ran through his body at a million miles per minute. What in Aizen's name was he supposed to do? Did he look like a babysitter? Well, did he?

He huffed angrily and shook his head furiously. Of everyone to choose from in the entire damn castle, Aizen choose _him _to keep the human "alive." Well…she was breathing wasn't she! What did they expect her to be like when they kidnapped her and stuffed in her a room as big as a closet? To be jumping for joy? This was Aizen's problem, so why didn't he have to do the dirty work and keep the stupid human, "alive."

He couldn't even experiment with her and keep things interesting, no, Aizen would kill him if she came back with even a tiny scratch on her porcelain skin. She was such a breakable, weak, submissive human, so how could someone like her hold any power near a god?

He stopped and pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. He grumbled for a moment before continuing his way towards the girl. The door was large, metal, dead of a thing, only its hinges kept it hanging to the wall. Szayel made a note in his head of the probability of how easily he could knock the weak object to the floor.

He opened the door, it squeaked until it hit the wall with a thud, Orihime's head swinging round in surprise. She stared in fright and confusion, her eyebrows furrowing and causing a tiny crease in her forehead. The hairs on the back of his neck stood upright and he tore himself away, "Come on," he said a little more harshly than he meant.

She scurried from the window and ran to his side, having to walk faster than usual to keep up with his long strides.

"Um Szayel?" her sweet voice broke the silence.

He kept staring ahead, trying to ignore her.

She coughed, "Szayel?"

"What!" he snarled, turning on her.

She jumped back, and blinked repeatedly in surprise, "I'm sorry," she whispered. Szayel felt his chest tightened, and he grinded his teeth in frustration at himself. No…it was her fault. Of course it was her fault…

His lab was the same as he left it; cold and empty and dark. He walked in but Orihime stayed at the door way. He turned around and stared her down with a questioning glare,

"Well?"

He waved his hand for her to enter, rudely; she shook her head and took a step back, he grumbled and sighed loudly,

"No, I'm not going to hurt you," he said in a mocking, whiny voice, "I'm under Aizen's orders."

Understanding hit her and confusion left her, but not wariness and she slowly walked in the darkness and followed Szayel as he led her to a back room, beyond the lab. He closed the door behind her and she jumped a little.

He flicked the lights on and one by one the glow of the overhead lights beamed down at them, revealing the circular room. Boards were hung up everywhere with multiple papers containing intricate formulas and drawings stuck on them. In the middle was a large circle island that staged his newest project.

A small bronze, copper bowl sat on a stand with a little flame underneath it. Papers were a little too close for comfort, near the red heat but Szayel obviously ignored that fact. Szayel pulled a chair up to the island and mixed something into the bowl and stirred with a metal stick.

"Come here," he ordered without looking.

Orihime complied and took a seat by the island, next to Szayel. She peered into the bowl and a glowing; silver liquid flowed as Szayel stirred. Orihime cocked her head,

"What is it?" she asked shyly.

Szayel tapped the stick against the side to shake off any excess liquid and placed it on a towel nearby, "This is something I think you would enjoy the most."

Orihime flicked her eyes up to Szayel who was pulling out a spoon, "Me?"

"Yes you."

He dipped the spoon into the silver and cupped his hand underneath so as not to spill anything and directed it towards Orihime, "Open."

Her eyes went wide, "What, n-!"

Her sentence was cut short as he popped the spoon into her mouth, she pushed Szayel away by his chest and the spoon fell out. A drop of it trickled down the corner of her mouth to her chin. She stopped to taste the familiar substance in her mouth and quickly swallowed,

"…That…couldn't be?"

Szayel smirked, "Chocolate? Yes it was. Not made from real cacao beans of course, I had to make a replacement, but the taste is in fact quite like the real thing, hm?"

She bit her lip, to hold back a smile, the taste still lingering in her mouth. The sweet, happiness swelling in her heart, how long had it been since she had chocolate, too long. How long since her heart felt that lost feeling?

"Exactly," she smiled.

Szayel fixed his glasses on his nose, content with his genius mind at creating this 'chocolate.' He would like the ever powerful Ulquiorra do something like that. He picked up the khaki hand towel and faced Orihime,

"Here," he held her small chin in his hand, his thumb brushing against her small plump lips, her hazel eyes becoming too wide and innocent for him to handle. He wiped the liquid that escaped her mouth from her face, but as slowly as possible and he couldn't find a reason in the world why. She was such a tiny little creature, he could hold her entire face between his hands.

He let go and threw the towel away, feeling regret. Was he being too nice? Well was he? Yes he was, he was Szayel Aporro Granz, cruel, vindictive, manipulative, and evil. He wasn't sweet. He didn't make chocolate for humans so she could trust Aizen more and keep her in tip top shape. He didn't give happiness, he took it.

"You're a mess," he hissed through his teeth. Orihime winced at his cruel words and shook her head from his grip. He regretted giving her happiness before, so why did he regret taking it more?

The mouse was driving the snake insane.


End file.
